Protecting Londoners from flooding due to intense rainfall

Zack Polanski: Are you confident that London has the right preparations to avoid severe impacts to life and property from flooding due to intense rainfall?

Sadiq Khan: This is the third question on flooding today, which shows the importance to constituents of this issue. I want to begin by stating the obvious - but I have got to say it - which is that we cannot eliminate flooding entirely, but we can plan and prepare for it. While I have no direct powers over flooding, I am determined to ensure that those with responsibilities for surface water flooding do what they can to minimise risk and prepare Londoners. That is why I convened the roundtable that I mentioned in answer to a previous question. Our emergency services performed admirably during the crisis. However, the roundtable meetings have recognised some clear gaps in our preparedness that must be addressed, including clarity on governance for managing surface water flood risk. Through my London Environment Strategy, the London Plan and A Green New Deal, we are working to reduce the risk of surface water flooding. This includes improving urban water management, enhancing green spaces, adapting the built environment and raising awareness through events like London Flood Awareness Week. My Green and Resilient Spaces programmes have contributed over £90million since I became Mayor to help London adapt to climate change. This includes £6million, which I announced just in June[2021], to create improved green spaces and make them more climate-resilient, including reducing flood risk.
The risks of surface water flooding are often underestimated when compared with river and coastal flooding, and urban areas like London receive less government funding to tackle flooding. That is why I have written to [The Rt Hon] GeorgeEustice [MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs], calling for stronger leadership and clearer governance on surface water flooding. This should include funding to improve the evidence base so surface water flooding measures can be targeted and to fund London boroughs, who are the lead local flood authorities. I have also called for more funding for the maintenance of flood and drainage assets to prevent and clear blockages and asked Defra to examine how early warning systems could improve flood information for emergency responders and the public.

Zack Polanski: Thank you, and thank you for the severity that you are treating this with. Londoners are very concerned about these floods. We have all seen deadly floods, in New York City and across Europe, and those same weather systems that caused the floods in Germany happened here in London. This is a serious problem and, indeed, on the Tube we have seen more flooding than in recent memory. I have seen in your Mayor’s report that you are talking about a warning system and you are discussing that with the Environment Agency and also with boroughs. I applaud a stronger and faster warning system. I do not know if you are aware, but currently the Government’s warning system excludes people unless they have a 4G or 5G phone. This obviously excludes lots of Londoners. How can you ensure that warning systems include everyone and do not exclude disadvantaged people if they do not own a phone?

Sadiq Khan: You know this because of your work across London, but there is a large amount of digital poverty in relation to people’s lack of access in terms of the wrong equipment, the lack of connection you talk about, 4G/5G, but also the lack of knowing how to use the equipment. That is one of the reasons the conversations with the Government are not simply about having an early warning system that is operative and works, but so that it is fully comprehensive. Again, Chair, the offer I made to his colleague about any expertise or advice he has got I am more than happy to listen to and to pass it on to Defra as well.

Zack Polanski: I really appreciate that. With that, would it be possible to share a copy of the letter sent to George Eustice so we know where you are at?

Sadiq Khan: I am happy to share it on a private basis. What I do not want to do is make it public because it is a breach of courtesy. So as long as the Member agrees to keep it between us, I have got no issues in relation to sharing that if you would just respect that. It is just bad manners to make it public.

Zack Polanski: Thank you. Now 45% of London homes do not have contents insurance. The insurance industry says this is a lot of private renters and also people on low incomes. This is obviously a really serious issue when we are looking at flooding. What can you do to make people aware that they should get themselves protected and, even more crucially, to help those who just cannot afford it?

Sadiq Khan: Yes, it is one of the issues. I raised this a number of years ago. One of the reasons we set up the Flood Awareness Week in 2018 was to just educate Londoners about floods happening and the need to be prepared for the possibility of it happening. When I was growing up - I am old enough to remember - before the Thames barrier, we would talk about flooding from the River Thames. Because the barrier is there now, we just do not think about and talk about floods like we used to. Because we do not have coastal flooding or the sort of river flooding other parts of the country experience, we have not got the lived experience.
One or two pieces of good news arising out of the awful flash flooding is more people are aware. That statistic I referred to, the statistic of 200,000 homes in London, residential homes, being at risk of flooding should wake people up. Commercial premises as well. Again, the next Flood Awareness Week is coming round the corner. Again, I am happy for my team to liaise with the Member about whether there is anything that is missing from that week that we can be, not in a patronising way, educating Londoners about. I am more than happy to listen to him but also just to reassure you we are speaking to colleagues across the globe. I was in a meeting yesterday with mayors on C40 [Cities Climate Leadership Group] who suffer similar challenges, not just in the southern part of the planet but in northern cities like cities in Germany, New York and so forth as well.

Zack Polanski: I think that global picture is vital. On the subject of what is missing, there is often an education piece missed and you are right to say “not to be patronising”, but there is often a map shared by Climate Week in [the United States of] America that conflates sea levels rising with intense rainfall. You know they are very different things. People often think because we have got a Thames barrier we do not need to worry about flooding. Would you update those maps or at least create a new map that showed more what the specific risk is? You talk about those 200,000 homes, but I think a lot of those people do not know that that risk is specific to intense rainfall as opposed to the Thames. So a new map with new risks, I think, would be a really positive step.

Sadiq Khan: Let me go and look into that, but the Member is spot on in relation to additional challenges posed by, for example, basement flats, some of the topography of our city, but flooding caused by intensive rain falling in short periods, sometimes a month’s worth of rain in three hours. It is very different from coastal floods or river floods that historically we have been used to.
One of the points we are making to Defra is that its focus has been, understandably - I speak as somebody who experienced as a Minister the horrible floods in the Lakes in 2009 and the consequences of that - its focus has been on river flooding and coastal flooding, including the funding going to those areas and not in relation to urban flooding caused by heavy rainfall, the flash flooding we know about. That is one of the reasons why we are asking the Government for support in that area. In the context of us having no direct responsibility, but as the Mayor, surely I have got a responsibility and role to bring people together, whether it is the Environment Agency, councils, water companies, TfL and so forth, the emergency responders. Any assistance he can give in lobbying the Government is welcome, but let me look into the specific point raised.

Zero emission vehicles

Tony Devenish: With the bosses of BT & BP leading the acceleration (no pun intended) to electric vehicles with a fleet of green vans, will the Mayor state on what date all GLA family vans and our supply chain partners’ vans will be zero emission?

Sadiq Khan: Chair, I note the shortage of time. I am happy to answer the question in a short way to give him time to ask supplementaries, if that is OK. I am proud that London is leading the way on electric vehicles and now has over a third of the UK’s charge points and I applaud those in the private sector who are matching our ambition. We have increased the number of buses and taxi fleets that are now electric. We are providing support to help businesses shift to zero emissions through the Mayor’s Air Quality Funds and have delivered over 300 rapid charge points, including rapid hubs, and we are developing an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy with the private sector to meet London’s needs. This has been set out in my Environment Strategy with the ambition for all vehicles in London to be zero emission by 2050, with milestones along the way to achieve this, including all cars in the GLA Group support fleets being zero emission by 2025. As I have made clear, in my second term I want to be even more ambitious and achieve net zero by 2030. My officers are working with the functional bodies to accelerate the targets that are in my Environment Strategy and ensure that the GLA Group fleets are fully zero emission in the shortest possible time. This will require Government support, but will help create jobs and investment across the country. I expect the GLA Group to lead by example and we are making huge progress. The vast majority of the LFB, the MPS and TfL fleets will be ULEZ compliant when ULEZ expands next month, with some specialist vehicles receiving sunset periods. Almost all of the LFB’s cars are now zero emission-capable. More than 50% of police support cars are already zero emission-capable. That is over 400 police cars, and TfL is working to electrify the entire fleet with over 550 zero emission buses already and another 400 on order, the largest zero emission bus fleet in western Europe. It is working with functional bodies to assess our electric vehicle charging infrastructure needs.

Tony Devenish: Thank you, MrMayor. In the shortage of time, I would appreciate a written answer. But my very short question is: what percentage of the GLA Group vans and supply chain partners’ vans do you think will be zero emission by May2024?

Sadiq Khan: I can write with an answer. I suspect I have got some of the detail. We can give an answer for the GLA Group. The supply chain is contingent upon their ability to accelerate. Also, there may be some good news from the Government in relation to accommodation, an announcement that is pre-Glasgow, CSR and the Budget, which will accelerate that progress. With that caveat, I am more than happy to write to the Member.

Drugs

Tony Devenish: With London facing lengthening NHS waiting lists post COVID and a rise in crime, will you drop your,in my view, irresponsible pledge to look at decriminalising drugs?

Sadiq Khan: At no point have I pledged to decriminalise drugs. However, there is a debate being had on this issue, with the full range of views cutting across the political spectrum. The former Conservative Party Leader and Foreign Secretary, [The Rt Hon] WilliamHague, has written about the decriminalisation of drugs, as has the Conservative Chair of this Assembly. It is precisely this range of views that means we need a more robust evidence base to inform practical policymaking this important issue. My pledge is to establish a London drug commission of independent experts who will examine the effectiveness of our drug laws with a particular focus on cannabis. My officials are working on developing the commission and I will provide further updates in due course. Drugs are driving violence, damaging Londoners’ health and dividing communities. It is time for a fresh, evidence-based look at how best we can reduce the harms that drugs like cannabis cause.
The commission aims to bring together leading figures from the fields of criminal justice, public health, politics, community relations and academia. They will pull together the latest evidence on the effectiveness of our drug laws, as I have said, with a particular focus on cannabis. What they will not do is look at the classification of Class A drugs, which I am very clear must remain illegal. Where I do want debate based on the best evidence from both the UK and from across the globe is the most effective way to tackle violence, protect communities and reduce harm. This is what the commission will do, making recommendations that aim to help drive effective and lasting change that addresses violent and drug-related crime, improves public health and helps people recover from addiction.
This does not mean being soft on drugs. On the contrary, I will continue to fully support the MPS in targeting those causing harm to our communities, but it is important that we have an informed debate here to ensure the focus on tackling violence, reducing crime and supporting those in need in London will be safer and healthier if we do so.

Neighbourhood Plans

Sakina Sheikh: Do you as Mayor have a role in involving local communities in strategic planning andNeighbourhood Plans, and how do you encourage local communities to claim their stake in these processes?

Sadiq Khan: The first objective in my London Plan is for everyone involved in planning and development to encourage early and inclusive engagement with stakeholders, including local communities. This is key to ensuring that the planning system in London is inclusive and delivers good growth. I have taken significant steps to involve a broad range of Londoners in strategic planning for London. The London Plan received over 4,000 written responses from a wide range of stakeholders, representing different communities and organisations across London. These responses raised a very broad range of issues and views, reflecting the complexity of planning London’s growth, and we have made numerous changes to the draft London Plan in response. GLA Planning is also undertaking bespoke approaches to engagement as London Plan guidance is developed. For example, engagement on the Public London Charter included sessions with Peer Outreach Workers and representatives of the Brent Youth Council to ensure that guidance reflects the way in which young Londoners from diverse backgrounds use public space. Boroughs’ local plans provide a significant opportunity for local people to shape their areas. The London Plan also recognises that neighbourhood plans provide a good opportunity for communities to shape growth in their areas and create a thriving city that works better for all Londoners. Neighbourhood planning is funded directly by the Government and supported by boroughs. The GLA is not funded to support neighbourhood plans directly. However, I would always encourage Londoners to get involved in developing neighbourhood plans in their areas.

Sakina Sheikh: Thank you very much, MrMayor. I know community engagement, particularly on issues of planning, has always been a priority for you whether that was introducing estate balloting or some of the Good Growth priorities that you have already outlined in your London Plan. I wanted us to, as you have already alluded to in your answer, focus in a little bit more on neighbourhood plans. Although the GLA is not funded directly to encourage that, I am keen as a way of encouraging Londoners more broadly to get involved in the planning system to ask how can you use your soft power to support communities to ensure that more people from diverse backgrounds get involved in producing neighbourhood plans to ensure the neighbourhood planning forums are reflective of their areas?

Sadiq Khan: That is a really important question. One of the things that I have sought to do is to turn Londoners from consumers to citizens, and then active citizens, particularly those communities that have been underserved by City Hall and by councils. We lobbied the Government to provide additional support to those communities where there is, in the past, a lack of engagement. The good news is that the Government has listened to calls for additional funding and has increased grant funding to those neighbourhoods with large populations or high levels of deprivation, addressing the issue you are raising, which is how you get those communities, which previously have not been engaged, involved in these really important conversations. They are the most likely to benefit from good developments but also are most likely to suffer from bad developments. We are getting them engaged and, by the way, we can use that experience in other areas of policy as well.

Sakina Sheikh: Thank you very much for that. I like the transition of consumers to citizens to active citizens, so I look forward to working with you on developing that further.
I just want to move us into the statement of community involvement as an idea. Recently, I have had the pleasure of meeting community campaigning groups, working on issues and planning such as Neighbourhood Planners London and Just Space as well as others. They have raised with me a desire to see the GLA produce a statement of community involvement and I know that the Centre for London also called for that at the beginning of this year. Is this something that you are willing to do, and what would your timeline look like in terms of considering it?

Sadiq Khan: I know the Member has got a lot of experience with community engagement. I would like to ask my officers in the team who are doing this work to meet with her to hear from her about the ideas she has heard from her constituents about what more we can do, because I genuinely think if we get this right, there are other areas of policy where we can make a big difference. I will arrange for a meeting so she can advise us what more we can be doing.

Sakina Sheikh: I look forward to that and I will certainly take you up on that kind offer.
On the note of meetings, my final follow-up is on whether you would consider convening a meeting for all neighbourhood planners across London so that they could come and meet and share ideas and learn from one another as well?

Sadiq Khan: I am always keen not to trespass in other areas of responsibility that are not mine, but what I am more than happy to do is to work with London Councils, which is responsible for this, to see what more it can do. I will get my team to raise this with London Councils, addressing what is at the core of the suggestion, which is trying to make sure there is best practice and convening those who are doing this to make sure best practice is shared, but also to avoid any deficiencies being replicated to rectify those.

Sakina Sheikh: I appreciate that, MrMayor, and I look forward to us putting a meeting in the diary to discuss a statement of community involvement. Thank you very much.

Fair Service Charges

Len Duvall: How can housing providers in London ensure that their level of service charges is affordable, and increases are sustainable for leaseholders?

Sadiq Khan: For many Londoners, service charges can be a significant part of their housing costs and it is vital that housing providers maintain their service charges at an affordable level so that homes remain affordable overall. The Assembly will be aware that I have no direct responsibility for service charges or the regulation of housing providers. While only the Government holds the powers to undertake the statutory reforms needed for leaseholders, I have ended ground rent on residential premises where the GLA is the landlord and worked with shared ownership housing providers to commit to affordability principles for service charges.
I continue to advocate strongly to the Government that leaseholders should under no circumstances have to pay for charges for remedial or interim measures related to building safety. For new homes, my London Plan sets out the affordability requirements developers must adhere to when delivering affordable leasehold tenures such as shared ownership. For these homes to be considered affordable, the annual housing costs should be no greater than 40% of net household income, and this requirement is inclusive of service charges. I will continue to review these affordability requirements through the London Plan Annual Monitoring Report and update them if necessary. For homes funded through the Affordable Homes Programme, the terms of funding also require that where housing providers seek to increase service charges they should have due regard to the affordability of the increase and be satisfied that the homes remain affordable.

Anne Clarke: Thank you so much, MrMayor. This is something that impacts thousands of Londoners and people who have large mortgages and then are surprised by a large service charge. Residents of Harrow’s Trident Point received bills of £25,000 each. This is completely legal and above board. Is there something wrong with the law when such costs are legal?

Sadiq Khan: Absolutely. That is why it is really important that the Government addresses this. I have met leaseholders, who are genuinely suicidal due to the bills they receive. They have got no way of paying these bills. These bills are generated by things that are not their fault and which they could not have been aware of when they fulfilled their dream of being homeowners. I think the Government should step in, should rectify the works that have led to these bills, and then afterwards resolve with the landowner, the building owner, the manager, how that is reimbursed. The leaseholder should not be facing bills of those sums because of things outside their control.

Anne Clarke: Yes, I absolutely agree. Leaseholders are the last people who should be footing bills for the mistakes that others have made. The GLA is currently working with investment partners to undertake research on service charge levels in London. When will this research be published and what has the initial research uncovered?

Sadiq Khan: We are working to update the service charges charter. There is a lot of data collection work that is required and it is not done by us. We are reliant upon the continuous recording of lettings and sales done by others to provide us with the data and to work and liaise with the MHCLG in relation to this. We are hopeful we will be able to provide this in the next few months, but it is contingent upon getting the data from Continuous Recording (CORE) and we are working with the MHCLG to publish the research as soon as possible.

Violence Against Women and Girls

Krupesh Hirani: In your election manifesto you have pledged to refresh your Violence Against Women and Girls strategy. Will you ensure that this looks specifically at the barriers faced by BAME women who suffer from violence and abuse, and the service they are provided with by the Police, NHS and third sector partners?

Sadiq Khan: Women and girls have a right to feel safe in London at any time of the day or night, in public or at home. Sadly, this is not the case for too many women. Since becoming Mayor, I have made tackling violence against women and girls one of my top priorities, investing £80million in support and services. This includes tailored service commissioned for Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) women facing abuse such as through the London Holistic Advocacy Wrap Around service led by Southall Black Sisters, which provides specialist support for women who have no recourse to public funds. Through my refreshed Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, I will continue to provide those who suffer from domestic abuse with support and work to ensure that migrant victims can access help without fear. I will work to ensure there are safe and informal spaces for victims from BAME backgrounds who need help. MOPAC has regular contact with organisations that advocate for survivors from BAME backgrounds as well as direct contact with survivors themselves. Our Victims’ Commissioner recently hosted a series of roundtable discussions to explore the specific challenges faced by Black survivors, and those from other minority ethnic backgrounds.
Harmful and violent behaviour against women is motivated by misogynistic attitudes and, alongside supporting victims, my refreshed strategy will take a public health approach, focusing on prevention. We will promote learning about healthy relationships in schools to help counter unhealthy attitudes and behaviours. Working with partners, we will look at the impact of intersectional issues that can prevent equal access to justice and support. I will continue to lobby to change the law to make sexual harassment a specific criminal offence in public spaces. Consulting with survivors, statutory partners and voluntary and community sector organisations this autumn, we intend to publish the refreshed Strategy in early 2022.

Krupesh Hirani: Thank you, MrMayor. You recently attended a vigil held in my constituency for NicoleSmallman and BibaaHenry, who were murdered at Fryent Country Park last year after celebrating Bibaa’s birthday. As we know, two police officers attended the scene of the crime and disgraced themselves and the matter is being dealt with accordingly. Nicole and Bibaa’s murders, as well as the horrific recent mass shooting in Plymouth, have brought the issue of young people being radicalised online to the fore. While it is not possible to confirm whether the perpetrator in the case in my constituency was accessing incel material online, there was clearly an issue around misogynistic radicalisation and heavily misogynistic attitudes as well. What extra efforts are you putting into countering online radicalisation, with a specific focus on young Londoners, who may not be followers of a so-called traditional terrorist ideology?

Sadiq Khan: The question raises some really interesting leadership work that is taking place around thought, thinking about the links between attitudes of misogyny and being radicalised in terrorist acts as well. There is a really good piece of work by JoanSmith [former Co-chair of the Mayor of London’s Violence Against Women and Girls Board] and many others, which draws a link between misogyny and those who become radicalised and become terrorists. Your question is really important, not just for the obvious reasons in relation to incels and those who hate women, but also how that can also affect other areas of violent extremism and violent hatred as well. That is one of the reasons we are restructuring some of the work in relation to violence against women and girls, the work we are doing around the Shared Endeavour Fund and so forth.
We do need to listen to it and look into the thought leadership provided to see what we can do. It is at an early age you have got to really try to make sure that boys and girls are educated in relation to healthy relationships, attitudes towards other sexes and how they should behave, because those attitudes can sometimes get worse when you become an adult. Also, those attitudes can lead to the way girls behave, changing the response to sexism they experience in the classroom and the playground, from the shoes they wear, the clothes they wear, the places they go, carried on when they become women as well. I am really keen to make sure we start in the classroom and start early, as well as other things we have got to do in relation to public realm, crime, better reflection of gender in the police service, judiciary and so forth, as well as the role of the media in relation to the responsibility they have in these issues as well.